Improving Teaching Practices through Action Research

• Main Author: Brown, Beth Lynne
• Other Authors: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2014
• Subjects: Staff Development; Action Research; Adult Learning
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26869; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04152002-182022/

This study investigated teachersâ perceptions of the influences of action research on their thinking about instructional practices and the impact of this thinking on teaching practices. The four specific areas of investigation were teachersâ perceptions about (a) the overall teacher role, (b) teachersâ knowledge about teaching, (c) teaching practices, and (d) reflective practices. The data were collected from interviews with teacher researchers, informal classroom observations, and collection of teacher and student work and related artifacts. The data revealed that teachers perceived changes in the four areas of investigation. Engaging in the stages of action research provided teachers with a methodical structure for implementing and analyzing the teaching and learning process. This defined structure guided teachers through more systematic and conscious data collection, data analysis, and reflection. === Ph. D.